Clasping device

ABSTRACT

The present invention is drawn to a clasping device for fixing a cargo item such as an automobile on a load carrying platform. The main assembly (A) of the clasping device has a body (B) and lever (C). Body (B) includes a main body (B 1 ) and a sub-body (B 2 ). The main body (B 1 ), the sub-body (B 2 ) and the lever (C) are pivotally connected to each other by pins (8a, 8b). In the release condition, the main body (B 1 ) and the sub-body (B 2 ) are bent and form a V-shape in association with each other due to the tension exerted and remaining on the strap (21).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a clasping device for fixing a cargoitem such as an automobile on a load-carrying platform of a transportingmeans such as a ship or vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art

The applicant of the present patent application has previously provideda clasping device, disclosed in Japanese utility model publication No.52175/1981, which is compactly assembled, durable, reliable and easilyhandled. Such a clasping device is indicated in FIGS. 1 to 3. Thisclasping device has a main assembly A which includes a body B and alever C pivotally connected to the body B by means of a pair of pins 8aand 8b. When the lever C is pivoted with respect to a body B from therelease position to a tightening position, a strap turning shaft 18 anda strap pressing shaft 19, respectively mounted between a pair ofsidewalls of the lever C, revolve about the pins 8a and 8b so that thestrap 21 is tightened.

The construction of the above clasping device will be described in moredetail hereinafter. A first hook 1 is directly connected to a left endportion of the body B, as viewed in FIGS. 1 to 3. The strap 21 has oneend portion 21b, to which a second hook 2 is connected, and a oppositeend portion 21a which is inserted into the body B from the right sidethereof to be connected to the body B. Namely, the end portion 21a ofthe strap 21 is externally wound around the strap turning shaft 18 afterhaving passed the strap pressing shaft 19. The body B has, at its rightend portion, two guide members arranged at the upper and lower positionswith respect to the strap 21 to be inserted, i.e. a connecting shaft 12for supporting the lever C in the tightening position, and a connectingwall 11 to which the corresponding portion of the strap 21 contacts whenthe main assembly A is turned upside down from the normal position shownin FIGS. 2 and 3. The end portion 21a of the strap 21 is inserted intothe body B through the space between the pair of guide members 11 and12. Furthermore, the lever C and the body B have, respectively, a pairof sidewalls each having anchor means 20 and 13.

The clasping device, as described above, is preferably used for thepurpose of fixing an automobile having a relatively light weight.Therefore, the size of the entire clasping device is designed so as tobe relatively small. However, with regard to making the clasping devicesmall, the dimension of the vertical width of the body B is notsufficiently small. Conventionally, the vertical width of the body B cannot be made sufficiently small for the following reason. As shown inFIG. 3, when the lever C is in the release position, the portion of thestrap 21 between the strap turning shaft 18 and the second hook 2 isheld straight. That is to say, the pins 8a and 8b are mounted onpositions of the corresponding sidewalls of the body B that allowabove-mentioned straight condition of the strap 21 to be effected. Ifthe pins 8a and 8b are mounted at lower positions on the body B, thevertical width of the body can be made smaller as a matter of course,but the strap turning shaft 18 and the strap pressing shaft 19disadvantageously take a position below the connecting wall 11, so thatthe strap 21 bends around the connecting wall 11. Under this condition,when the strap 21 is pre-tightened by pulling the end portion 21a of thestrap 21, the strap is rubbed against the connecting wall 11, so thatthe operation of pre-tightening the strap 21 is becomesdisadvantageously very difficult. Accordingly, the pins 8a and 8b mustbe mounted at the relatively high position of the sidewalls on the bodyB, resulting in the vertical width of the body B being made necessarilylarge.

The problem, as described above, is due to the fact that the pins 8a and8b are mounted at fixed position on the body B so that the positionalrelationship of the connecting wall 11 and the pins 8a and 8b can not bechanged when moving the lever C between the release and tightenedconditions.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide aclasping device wherein the positional relationship of the pins 8a and8b with respect to the connecting wall 11 are changed in when moving thelever C between the release and tightened conditions so that the portionof the strap 21 between the strap turning shaft 18 and the second hook 2can be held straight when the lever is in the release position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accomplishing this object, according to the present invention thereis provided an improvement of a clasping device of the type, asdescribed above, wherein the body of the main assembly comprises a mainbody having a pair of sidewalls which are respectively connected to thefirst hook, and a sub-body which has a pair of sidewalls including theconnecting shaft and the connecting wall arranged therebetween and thecorresponding anchor means, the sidewalls of the main body and thecorresponding sidewalls of the sub-body being pivotally connected toeach other by means of pins.

With the construction of the clasping device as described above, whenthe strap in the release condition is subject to a slight tension, theportion of the strap between the strap turning shaft and the second hookbecomes substantially straight, and the main body and the sub-body formV-shape in association with each other since the pins easily moveupwardly together with the main body, while the two guide members, i.e.the connecting shaft and the connecting wall are moved by the strapunder the slight tension so that the sub-body rotates about the pinswith respect to the main body. That is to say, none of the guide membershinder the straight of the portion of the strap between the strapturning shaft and the second hook. Therefore, the operation ofpre-tightening of the strap can be easily effected since the frictionbetween the strap and the guide members is very small.

With the construction of the clasping device according to the presentinvention, the connecting wall is preferably formed curved or bent inthe direction of the tension of the strap so as to be convex withrespect to the strap so that, when the strap moves with respect to themain assembly, the strap does not contact the edges of the connectingwall. With this preferable construction, damage of the strap due tofriction between it and the connecting wall is reduced greatly. It is tobe noted that if the strap contacts the edges of the connecting wall,the damage of the strap is quite severe since the friction between thestrap and the edges of the connecting wall is very large.

Furthermore, in the above construction of the clasping device, one ofthe sidewalls of the main body or the sidewalls of the sub-body have,preferably, stopping means at predetermined portions thereof whichengage, in the release condition, with predetermined portions of thesidewalls of the sub-body or the main body so that the angle formed bythe main body and the sub-body is limited to such an extent that theanchor means of the main body or the sub-body is prevented fromintruding into the other of the corresponding sidewalls, resulting inthat easy operation of lever can be effected.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be describedhereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view showing a clasping device in the tighteningcondition according to a prior art device, as already describedhereinbefore,

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II--II in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing the clasping device inthe release condition,

FIGS. 4 and 5 are, respectively, a top plan view and a side elevationalview of a clasping device in the tightening condition according anembodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI--VI in FIG. 4,

FIGS. 7 and 8 are sectional views respectively taken along linesVII--VII and VIII--VIII in FIG. 5,

FIGS. 9 and 10 are a side elevational view and a sectional view of theclasping device in the release condition according to the presentinvention,

FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view showing a condition in which themain assembly of the clasping device shown in FIGS. 4 to 10 is upsidedown,

FIGS. 12, 13 and 14 are, respectively, a top plan view, a sideelevational view and a sectional view of a clasping device according toanother embodiment of the present invention, and

FIG. 15 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the clasping deviceshown in FIG. 13 in the release condition.

It is to be noted that like parts are designated by like referencenumerals and symbols throughout the several views of the accompanyingdrawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The clasping device shown in FIGS. 4 to 11 has substantially the sameschematic construction as that of the prior art device shown in FIGS. 1to 3. Namely, a main assembly, generally indicated by a reference symbolA, comprises a body B and a lever C pivotally connected to the body B. Afirst hook 1 is directly connected by means of pin 3 to the left endportion, as viewed in FIGS. 1 to 3. A strap, indicated by a referencenumeral 21, has a first end portion 21a, which extends around a strapturning shaft 18 and a strap pressing shaft 19, and a second end portion21b to which a second hook 2 is connected by means of a connectingmember 5 and pin 4. When the lever C is in a tightening position asshown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the strap 21 is tightened, while when the lever Cis in a release position as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the strap isreleased.

The body B comprises a main body B₁ and a sub-body B₂ connected to themain body B₁. The main body B₁ has a pair of sidewalls 6a and 6b facingeach other. As shown best in FIG. 4, the sidewalls 6a and 6b have,respectively left bent end portions which sandwiche the base end portionof the first hook 1 and are pivotally connected to it by means of a pin3. A reinforcement shaft 7 is mounted between the pair of sidewalls 6aand 6b.

Meanwhile, the sub-body B₂ comprises a pair of sidewalls 10a and 10bfacing each other, and a pair of guide members, i.e. a connecting shaft12 and a connecting wall 11, which, respectively, connecting the rightend portions of the sidewalls 10a and 10b to each other. The left endportions of the sidewalls 10a and 10b are fitted over the right endportions of the sidewalls 6a and 6b of the main body B₁ and areconnected to them by means of the corresponding pins 8a and 8b.Therefore, the sub-body B₂ can pivot about the pins 8a and 8b withrespect to the main body B₁.

The lever C comprises a pair of sidewalls 16a and 16b face each other, aconnecting wall 17 for connecting tip end portions of the sidewalls, anda pair of shafts, i.e. a strap turning shaft 18 and a strap pressingshaft 19, respectively mounted between the base end portions of thesidewalls 16a and 16b. The base end portions of the sidewalls 16a and16b are fitted into the right end portions of the sidewalls 6a and 6b ofthe main body B₁ and connected to the sidewalls of the main body B₁ andsub-body B₂ by means of the pins 8a and 8b. The sidewalls 16a and 16b,respectively, have, at predetermined positions, engaging holes 20.Meanwhile, the sidewalls 10a and 10b, respectively, have, atpredetermined positions, anchor projections 13 that project inwardly.When the lever C is in the tightening position, the anchor projections13 detachably engage with the corresponding engage holes 20.

The first end portion 21a of the strap 21 is extends around the strapturning shaft 18 and the strap pressing shaft 19, as shown best in FIG.6. Namely, the first end portion 21a of the strap 21 is, first, insertedinto the sub-body B₂ through the space between the connecting shaft 12and the connecting wall 11, subsequently wrapped around the strapturning shaft 18 after having passed the strap pressing shaft 19, andfinally led out of the sub-body B₂ through the space between the guidemembers 11 and 12. A stopper plate 22 is connected to the first endportion 21a of the strap 21 in order to prevent the strap 21 fromaccidentally slipping out of the lever C.

With the construction of the embodiment of the present invention, asdescribed above, when the lever C is in the tightening position as shownin FIGS. 4 to 6 to fix the strap 21, the lever C is supported by theconnecting shaft 12, and the portion of the strap 21 between theconnecting shaft 12 and the strap pressing shaft 19 is in an upperposition above the center O of the pins 8a and 8b so that the lever C isconstantly urged toward the tightening position by the strap 21 underheavy tension. Accordingly, the lever C can be held in the tighteningposition with respect to the body B without the specific stopper means.Needless to say, the anchor projections 13 engage, in the tighteningcondition, with the corresponding engaging holes 20 so that the lever Cand the body B are rigidly fixed to each other, resulting in thatpotential vibration of the lever C with respect to the body B iseffectively avoided.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, when the lever C is rotated tothe release position with respect to the body B, the portion of thestrap 21 between the second hook 2 and the strap turning shaft 18becomes straight due to the remaining slight tension on the strap 21, sothat the pins 8a and 8b will move upwardly, as shown. The main body B₁and sub-body B₂, which are pivotally connected to the pins 8a and 8b,subsequently, will become subject to the tension of the strap 21. Thatis to say, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the main body B₁ and the sub-bodyB₁ forms a V-shape. Therefore, the strap 21 is not bent by the guidemembers 11 and 12. Thus, when the first end portion 21a of the strap ispulled during the pre-tightening operation, the friction between thestrap 21 and the guide members 11 and 12 is very small. Accordingly, thepre-tightening operation of the strap 21 is effected quite easily.

The clasping device is usually used in the condition as shown in FIGS. 4to 6. However, the clasping device may accidentally turn upside down asshown in FIG. 11. Namely, when the strap 21 accidentally loosens themain assembly A may turn upside down since the lever C is heavy. It isto be noted that the lever C is usually prevented from easily releasingeven when the clasping device is in this accidental condition. This isbecause, when the main assembly A turns upside down, the strap 21contacts the connecting wall 11, and accordingly the portion of thestrap 21 between the connecting wall 11 and the strap pressing shaft 19is held at the lower position below the center O of the pins 8a and 8b.Thus, in this condition, even if the strap 21 is suddenly pulled again,the lever C is urged toward the tightening position by the tension ofthe strap 21 so that the lever C will not accidentally rotate to therelease position. Needless to say, when the anchor projections 13disengage from the corresponding engaging holes 20, the said portion ofthe strap 21 may eventually assume the upper position above the center Oof the pins 8a and 8b. In this case, when the strap 21 is suddenlypulled, the lever C may be rotated toward the release position as amatter of course.

As apparent from the foregoing description, according to the aboveembodiment of the present invention, since the body B comprises the mainbody B₁ and the sub-body B₂ which are pivotally connected to each otherby means of the pins 8a and 8b so that, in the release condition, themain body B₁ and the sub-body B₂ form a V-shape, resulting in that thepositional relationship between the pins 8a and 8b and the the guidemembers 11 and 12 is different from that in the tightening condition,the vertical width of the body B including the main body B₁ and sub-bodyB₂ can be made very small and the sidewalls of the body B can besubstantially rectangular.

Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 12 to 15.As shown best in FIG. 12, the left half portion 10c of each sidewall 10aand 10b of the sub-body B₂ projects outwardly from the right halfportion 10d thereof. The left and right half portions of the sidewalls10a and 10b are connected to each other by means of the correspondingshoulder portions 10e which is substantially semi-circular, as viewed inFIG. 13.

The connecting wall 11 is bent along the direction exerted on thetension of the strap so as to be convex in a direction away from thestrap 21 so that, when the lever C is in the release position, the strap21 does not the edges 11a and 11b of the connecting wall 11.

With the construction of the second embodiment, as described above, theanchor projections 13 of the lever C are advantageously prevented fromencroaching toward the outer surface of the sidewalls 16a and 16b. Morespecifically, as shown best in FIG. 15, in the release condition, thelever C is supported by the reinforcement shaft 7 of the main body B₁,while the sub-body B₂ is positioned with respect to the main body B₁ insuch a manner that the inner and lower surface of the shoulder portions10e of each sidewall 10a and 10b engage with the lower peripheralsurfaces of each sidewall 6a and 6b of the main body B₁. It is to benoted that, if the sub-body B₂ does not have shoulder portions, sincethe strap 21 under slight tension urges the sub-body B₂ in a clockwisedirection, the anchor projections 13 possibly encroach toward the outersurface of each sidewall 16a and 16b of the lever C, resulting in thatthe operation of turning the lever C toward the tightening positionwould become quite difficult.

Furthermore, since the connecting wall 11 has a V-shaped configuration,even when the position of the sub-body B₂ changes with respect to thestrap 21 in the release and tightening conditions, namely even if thesub-body B₂ rotates clockwise, as viewed in FIG. 15, with respect to themain body B₁ in the release condition, the strap 21 does not contact theone end portion 11a of the connecting wall 11, so that the operation ofpre-tightening the strap 21 can be performed very smoothly and thedamage of the strap 21 is very small. This will be easily understood ifthe second embodiment is compared with the first embodiment shown inFIG. 10. In FIG. 10, since the connecting wall 11 is only a flat plate,the left edge of the connecting wall 11 becomes in contact with thestrap 21 in the release condition. Therefore, when the strap 21 isshifted with respect to the main assembly A, the strap 21 rubs againstthe left edge of the connecting wall 11, resulting in severe damage ofthe strap 21.

What is claimed is:
 1. A clasping device comprising:a main body having apair of spaced apart and opposing main body sidewalls; a hook securingmeans connected to the main body at one end of said main body sidewalls;a sub-body pivotally connected to said main body, said sub-body having apair of spaced apart and opposing sub-body sidewalls, first anchor meansat a predetermined location on said sub-body sidewalls, a connectionshaft extending between said sub-body sidewalls at one end of saidsub-body sidewalls, and a connecting wall extending between saidsub-body sidewalls at said one end of said sub-body sidewalls and spacedfrom said connecting shaft; pin means connecting the other end of saidmain body sidewalls to the other end of the sub-body sidewalls forpivotally connecting said main body and said sub-body; a lever having apair of spaced apart and opposing lever sidewalls, said lever sidewallsbeing pivotally connected to and between said spaced apart sidewalls ofsaid main body and said sub-body by said pin means, said lever pivotingbetween a first position and a second position relative to said mainbody and said sub-body, said lever abutting against said connectingshaft when at said second position, said lever having second anchormeans at a predetermined location on said lever sidewalls for engagingsaid first anchor means of said sub-body when said lever is at saidsecond position to detachably secure said lever to said sub-body when atsaid second position, a strap turning shaft extending between said leversidewalls, and a strap pressing shaft extending between said leversidewalls and spaced from said strap turning shaft; and a strap havingfirst and second end portions, said first end portion extending betweensaid lever sidewalls from between said connecting shaft and saidconnecting wall, between said strap pressing shaft and said strapturning shaft, and around said strap turning shaft, and again betweensaid connecting shaft and said connecting wall to said second endportion of said strap which extends outside of said lever; said strapturning shaft and said strap pressing shaft being disposed between saidlever sidewalls relative to said pin means such that when said lever isin said first position and tension is exerted on said second end portionof the strap, the first end portion of the strap is relatively easilyslidable over the strap turning shaft, and when said lever is in saidsecond position and tension is exerted on said second end of the strap,the first end portion of the strap is fixed relative to the lever aroundthe strap pressing shaft and the strap turning shaft.
 2. A claspingdevice as claimed in claim 1,wherein said connecting wall is convex in adirection toward the connecting shaft such that the strap passingtherebetween when slid over the connecting wall in the direction inwhich the tension is exerted on the second end portion is not engaged byan edge portion of the connecting wall.
 3. A clasping device as claimedin claim 1,wherein one of said main body sidewalls and said sub-bodysidewalls has engaging portions thereon for engaging with a peripheraledge surface of the other of said main body sidewalls and said sub-bodysidewalls when the main body and the sub-body are pivoted relative toeach other at a predetermined angle to limit relative rotation of themain body and the sub-body about said pin means to said predeterminedangle.
 4. A clasping device comprising:a lever having a pair of spacedapart and opposing lever sidewalls, a strap turning shaft extendingbetween said lever sidewalls, a strap pressing shaft extending betweensaid lever sidewalls, and a first anchor means; a main body having apair of spaced apart and opposing main body sidewalls between which anend portion of said lever is pivotally mounted to the main body, saidlever moving between first and second positions relative to said mainbody, said main body having a first end portion comprising a hooksecuring means and a second end portion; a strap having first and secondend portions, said first end portion extending between said pair oflever sidewalls, between said strap pressing shaft and said strapturning shaft, and around said strap turning shaft, to said second endportion which extends outside of said lever; a sub-body having an endportion pivotally connected to one of said pair of lever sidewalls andsaid pair of main body sidewalls, lever guide means for supporting saidlever when said lever is in said first position, first and second strapguide means between which said first and said second end portions ofsaid strap extend when said lever is in either of said first and saidsecond positions, said first and said second strap guide means forconfining said strap therebetween, and a second anchor means forengaging said first anchor means of said lever when said lever is insaid first position for detachably securing said lever to said sub-bodywhen said lever is in said first position, said first position being astrap tightening position at which the first end portion of the strap isfixed relative to the lever, and said second position being a straploosening position at which the first end portion of the strap isrelatively easily slidable over the strap turning shaft.